Chapter 193: The Corpse-Gatherer of the Xiang River

The Corpse-Gathering Zhiren naturally would not listen to the persuasion of its two disciples. Soon, it packed up all its belongings and began its journey toward the south.

Seeing their master so stubborn, the two disciples, Wang Wu and Daniu, felt quite helpless. But since their master was already on the move, they couldn't very well not follow.

Before long, the three of them crossed several mountains and arrived at the banks of the vast, surging Xiang River.

The riverbanks were surrounded by mountains, and no signs of human life could be seen in the vicinity. There wasn't even half a fishing boat on the Xiang River; only the seemingly clear river water flowed on incessantly.

"Master, this is the Xiang River. I've heard that from time to time, 'river drifters' float out from the Corpse-Floating Cave upstream. But if you want to retrieve those corpses, you have to find a Corpse-Gatherer."

Standing by the riverbank, Wang Wu honestly told the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren everything he knew.

"That's right, Master. If we want to retrieve corpses, we'll probably have to pay those Corpse-Gatherers a hefty fee, otherwise, they won't help us for nothing!"

Daniu added from the side. Corpse-Gatherers were also considered a branch of the Heavenly Craftsmen, but their status was similar to that of the Yin-Walkers; they were both roles that couldn't really be brought into the light.

People in this line of work were born with peculiar fates—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them "Heavenly Solitary Stars." Anyone who was relatively close to them generally didn't have a good end.

Even they themselves were often dragged to the bottom of the river because they encountered some formidable corpses.

It could be said that this lineage was definitely a craft with a rather miserable outcome. If they hadn't been forced into a dead end, no one would ever choose to work in this trade.

"Click, click."

After hearing their description, the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren nodded slowly, then lifted its legs and walked along the upper reaches of the Xiang River.

Seeing that their master didn't seem to care, Wang Wu and Daniu could only bury their heads and follow. In any case, no matter how dangerous it was ahead, it shouldn't be a problem with their master there.

After all, during this period, they had followed the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren to deal with quite a few evil corpses and Guiyi, so they had gained some experience.

Not long after walking upstream along the river, the three of them saw a shack made of bamboo by the riverbank, with a small boat moored at the shore.

"Master, this should be the Corpse-Gatherer's dwelling. They basically all live by the river and don't easily live with others."

Seeing the shack, Wang Wu hurriedly leaned into the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren's ear and whispered to it.

"Who are you lot?"

Just then, a man with a sallow complexion, yellowish hair and beard, and a rather large build crawled out of the shack.

This man held a sharp blade in his hand, had a double-hook chain wrapped around his waist, wore a brown short shirt, and stepped on tattered straw sandals. The whole look made him appear just like a water ghost.

"Click, click, click."

The Corpse-Gathering Zhiren pointed toward the upper reaches of the Xiang River and then pointed at itself. Wang Wu hurriedly spoke up to the other party: "My master says we want to follow the Xiang River all the way up to the Corpse-Floating Cave!"

"Hmph, courting death!"

Hearing Wang Wu's words, the Corpse-Gatherer's expression turned somewhat gloomy, and he looked at them as if they were dead men.

"Click, click."

However, the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren then tossed a few yellow talismans toward him. Seeing this, the Corpse-Gatherer caught them with the sharp blade in his hand.

His movements were fast, accurate, and ruthless; the whole process appeared incredibly natural, as if the few talismans were stuck to the blade.

"Whoa, Corpse-Suppressing Talismans? Are you people from the Corpse-Suppressing Division?"

After seeing these yellow talismans clearly, the look in the Corpse-Gatherer's eyes when he looked at the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren changed slightly.

"Click, click."

But the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren shook its head, denying his claim, which made him feel quite strange.

"Forget it, since you're looking for death, get on the boat!"

However, he had no reason to refuse the Corpse-Suppressing Talismans that had been delivered to his door. After thinking for a moment, he tucked the talismans into his bosom, greeted the three of them, and jumped onto the small boat by the river.

The Corpse-Gathering Zhiren did not hesitate and walked directly to the riverbank to board the small boat. Being able to take a boat directly to the Corpse-Floating Cave upstream was naturally better than climbing over mountains along the Xiang River.

Wang Wu and Daniu hurriedly followed, though the two were clearly somewhat terrified. After boarding the boat, they couldn't help but look around, fearing that a water Gui might pop out at any moment.

"Creak~ creak~"

As the Corpse-Gatherer slowly rowed the oars, the corpse-gathering boat was gradually steered into the middle of the river and began to move toward the upper reaches of the Xiang River.

"Splash~ splash~"

The current in the center of the Xiang River was clearly more turbulent, but this corpse-gathering boat was surprisingly steady.

"So cold!"

Daniu, who was sitting on the boat, couldn't help but shiver, because he could clearly feel that the wooden planks of this boat were emitting a cold, chilling sensation at every moment.

Clearly, this boat was not an ordinary boat; otherwise, it would be impossible for it to be so steady and for the planks to be so icy cold.

"Hehe, this corpse-gathering boat of mine is a good thing passed down from my master's master. No matter if it's day or night, as long as it's out on the water, I guarantee those water Gui won't come near!"

Seeming to notice the strange feeling of Daniu and Wang Wu, the Corpse-Gatherer let out two weird laughs and then spoke to them.

"Hehe, so that's how it is! So that's how it is!"

Wang Wu couldn't help but stand up from the boat. He now felt that his lower body was icy cold. If they hadn't been tempering their bodies under the supervision of the Corpse-Gathering Zhiren these past few days, his whole body would probably have gone cold through and through.

"Eh? More goods today?!"

Suddenly, the Corpse-Gatherer who was rowing the oars seemed to have discovered something. He stopped his movements, stood up, and looked toward the river surface in the distance.

As the black dot on the river surface approached, Wang Wu and Daniu finally saw clearly that it was a corpse floating face-up.

The clothing on this corpse looked like it had been around for some years, but what was strange was that the corpse showed no signs of decay at all.

At this moment, the corpse was disheveled, wrapped in water weeds, and slowly drifting downstream with the river water.

"Splash~"

At the same time, the Corpse-Gatherer standing at the bow of the boat untied the chain with double hooks from his waist and began to swing it in his hand.

"Woo-woo~"

The chain with iron hooks constantly emitted a whistling sound in the air. As the floating corpse on the river surface approached, the Corpse-Gatherer struck instantly.

I saw the chain with hooks fly from his hand toward the floating corpse like a spirit snake.

"Plop!"

"Splash!"

The chain fell into the river water, but the Corpse-Gatherer did not immediately retract it. Instead, he began to shake the chain vigorously. I don't know what technique he used, but after a short while, the chain in the river water wrapped around the floating corpse.

"Sit tight, everyone!"

Seeing that the chain had successfully wrapped around the corpse, he immediately warned Wang Wu and the others. Then, the Corpse-Gatherer crouched slightly, exerted force with both hands, and began to pull the chain toward himself with all his might.

"Rise!"

"Splash~"

As he began to exert force, the chain instantly went taut. It didn't look like he was pulling a corpse, but rather like he was wrestling with some unknown giant creature in the water! ===== CHAPTER 194 =====